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Aggie Cross Country Teams in Top-12 of Mountain Regional Rankings

Utah State's men and women's cross country teams are ranked 12th and 11th, respectively, in the first regular season Mountain Regional Preseason Team Rankings. (photo from Athletics website)

Utah State’s [University] men and women’s cross country teams are ranked 12th and 11th, respectively, in the first regular season Mountain Regional Preseason Team Rankings announced Monday [Sept. 16] by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Aggie men and women harriers were both slated 12th in the pre-season regional rankings released earlier this year.

Utah State is beginning its first season of competition in the Mountain West Conference following eight years in the Western Athletic Conference. The Aggie men are one of five Mountain West members to be ranked in the top-15 in the region. USU is joined by New Mexico, Air Force, Wyoming and Colorado State, who rank 4-7, respectively.

On the women’s side, five other Mountain West teams were ranked regionally. USU is joined in the rankings by New Mexico (2nd), Air Force (7th), Colorado State (8th), Wyoming (13th) and Nevada (14th).

Additionally, Utah State’s men are one of five teams from the Beehive State that are ranked in the Mountain Region Poll. USU is joined by BYU (3rd), Utah Valley (8th), Weber State (9th) and Southern Utah (10th).

Five other women’s teams from the state of Utah were picked in the top-15. BYU (3rd), Weber State (4th), Southern Utah (6th), Utah (9th) and Utah Valley (10th) join the Aggies in the rankings.

USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning team strength with current-season results in determining predicted team finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships.

USU's men and women's cross country teams began the 2013 season by hosting the Aggie Invitational Saturday [Sept. 7] at Innovation Campus Wellness Park. Both the men and women’s teams placed first in the event, with senior Kyle McKenna and freshman Tori Parkinson winning the individual races. The Aggies followed up that performance with a fourth-place finish by the men and a third-place finish by the women at the Utah Valley Invitational last weekend [Sept. 14].

The Aggies will return to action Saturday, Sept. 21, at the MSU Invitational in Bozeman, Mont.

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